Got her back today with the Sumis on. Much quieter than the almost bare Michelins. Stay tuned for opinion on performance although it isn't really a fair comparison as I will be comparing used tires against new tires.

 

Does a 285/30-18 Sumitomo HTRZ3 look correct on a 10" wide factory rear wheel or does it look stretched? Right now I have PZero's and they REALLY overhang the rim to the point where I could probably hit a curb and not damage the wheel. (And I like that look). How is the Sumi in this regard?

 

I have champion motorsports wheels that are 11" and my sumis are 295/30-18. The pilot sports looked wider but I am not sure if the absence of any discernible tread made them look that way or if they were actually wider.

 

Just curious as to what Chinese Crap you re referring to?

 

Not sure about the 285s on a 10" wheel, but the 295s on an 11" wheel were really stretched...

 

The same thought process that still has him believing Peanut Corporation of America, Enron and Worldcom are stand up companies.

 

I had the 285/30 on my 18's and they looked great.

 

Just put on the new dirreza zII's yesterday. Have to say they're quite a bit sticker than my old bald ps2's. The ps2's had a greasy feeling towards the end of it's life. It seems that the road noise is about the same, but the car definitely feels more planted.

 

I'm hoping to take my winter tires off and put my summers on in the next week! My Blizzaks are just finishing their 4th season and they are shot. We've had a little snow in the last week but we should be done with it now.

 

I ordered the Michelin tires today, as for the my Sumitomos the ride was not as good. More practically speaking, the Sumi's had a label inside and outside. There was no way to "rotate" the rears like I could with the Michelins. With the camber inner wear, I could switch left and right rear tires onto opposite side, but obviously had to remount on the other wheel. Michelins with "rotation" got better mileage.

 

Every time I read about winter tires I'm all....wut? Sounds like period panties for your car. You should move back to Texas!

 

Interesting. Rotate the rears with the Michelins? I have considered that myself but thought it was dangerous since I had heard anecdotally that the outside sidewall was stiffer than the inside. But I haven't found any conclusive evidence on that. When you rotated them did you notice any difference in handling?

 

Don't knock it until you've tried it! A 911 is great fun in the snow with the right tires! A 911 in the snow with summer tires is terrifying...

I do miss Texas sometimes... although it's nice to live in a house without air conditioning (and without a need for it...).

 

Not sure why people will stand in line to buy Chinese products from Apple but are convinced the Chinese can't make a decent tire.

There is no reason to believe a quality brand tire made in Germany or Korea is going to be any better than the same tire manufactured in a Chinese factory. As long as the parent company has a decent QA process, the results are going to be replicable regardless of where the factory happens to be.

I personally do not like China's scorched-earth environmental policies, and I don't like the way that workers are treated, but philosophical concerns are tangential to whether or not a Chinese factory can correctly manufacture a tire.

 

I wish I could unread the term "period panties."